54th Miss Indian Arizona Crowned
Taylor Tailbi Denzhone Susan, representing the White Mountain Apache Tribe, was crowned Miss Indian Arizona, 2015-16 on October 10, 2015 at the Chandler Center for the Arts. She is the 22 year old daughter of Anne and Lloyd Susan. Taylor is pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry at the University of Arizona. Taylor also won the Best Talent, and Best Oral Presentation Awards.
The new Miss Indian Arizona loves acting, mentoring other students, watching old movies, Broadway musicals and singing. Other interests involve learning how to bead, improving her fry-bread making skills, politics, and science.
Taylor will now face a rigorous year of travel to many Arizona Indian reservations and participate in various school and state wide events. In addition to this schedule she plans to maintain her college course load, which will be every challenging. The Miss Indian Arizona Association’s philosophy is that education is a very high priority.
As Miss Indian Arizona, Taylor’s platform will be to promote spending quality time with our
elders to understand how valuable they are to our communities. Taylor states, “We must honor our elders and know that when our elders leave to the creator, they carry the knowledge of the people with them.”
Lexie Michael James of the Hopi Tribe was selected First Attendant to Miss Indian Arizona. She is the 19 year old daughter of Jacqueline J. James and a recent graduate of the Hopi Jr. /Sr. High School. She plans to further her education by attending college at Fort Lewis and to obtain a degree in Sports Medicine.
Second Attendant to Miss Indian Arizona is Sienna Soleil Whittington, from the Gila River Indian Community. She is the daughter of Shannon Holmes and Larry Whittington. She also received the Best Evening Wear Award. Sienna is a 2014 graduate of the University of California Irvine, receiving her degree in Anthropology and Sociology. Sienna plans to complete a Master’s Degree in Education from Northern Arizona University.
Other awards were received by:
Holly Elyse Antone, Ak-Chin Indian Community, Miss Congeniality and Community Service
Shelyne Twist, Cocopah Tribe, Essay
Skehg Hiosik Galindo, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, People’s Choice
This year’s theme was “Celebrating Traditional Values Through Song, Dance and Stories.”
The Miss Indian Arizona Association congratulates all the winners and extends sincere
thanks to all of the participants and their parents.
The Miss Indian Arizona Association congratulates all the winners and extents sincere thanks to all the participants and their parents.
